Yogurt is made by adding a number of types of harmless bacteria to milk, causing it to ferment.…

Method

Heat a large saucepan and dry-fry the cumin seeds and chilli flakes for 1 min, or until they start to jump around the pan and release their aromas. Scoop out about half of the seeds with a spoon and set aside. Add the oil, carrot, lentils, stock and milk to the pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 mins until the lentils have swollen and softened.

Whizz the soup with a stick blender or in a food processor until smooth (or leave it chunky if you prefer). Season to taste and finish with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkling of the reserved toasted spices. Serve with warmed naan breads.

Recipe Tip

If you want to use a slow cooker...

Place half the cumin seeds, half the chilli flakes, the oil, carrots, lentils and 700ml stock into your slow cooker pot. Cover and cook on High for 3 hours until the lentils are tender. Dry-fry the remaining cumin seeds and chilli flakes just until fragrant. When the lentils are done, stir in the milk and whizz up the soup depending on how chunky you'd like it.

Recipe Tip

Make it Moroccan

Substitute the chilli flakes and cumin seeds for a few teaspoons of harissa paste. You could add cooked shredded chicken at the end of cooking, too.

Recipe Tip

Make it dairy-free

For a richer but dairy-free alternative, use a can of reduced-fat coconut milk instead of the milk.

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Comments, questions and tips

It's incredible really how something with so few ingredients can taste so beautiful. Easy-peasy to make, I used my Nutri Bullet to blend it and the result was a fabulously warming, tasty soup. Highly recommend.

Looley69

20th May, 2017

5.05

I accidentally put too much chilli in (chopped up a whole, fresh chilli) ... to combat the hotness, I chucked in a can of coconut milk (really creamy kind) and the soup was delicious, really tasty! A nice, accidental twist to the recipe. I didn't put the cumin in as don't like it so can't comment from that score.

Dizzylizzy87

20th Apr, 2017

5.05

This recipe is delicious. Ive just made it by putting all the ingredients straight into a soup maker and it comes out brilliantly. I left out the oil and used ground cumin rather than seeds. I'll definitely be making this again.

miminh

20th Mar, 2017

5.05

Didn't use exact measurements, but used the recipe as a base. Brilliant!

subtleleaden

18th Mar, 2017

5.05

Very warming and easy to make! I didn't have chilli flakes, so fried the cumin seeds with 2 tsps of ginger and garlic. Also didn't have red lentils, so just used brown lentils instead and worked out fine!

Parker2201

14th Feb, 2017

5.05

Great recipe. Added a thumb of grated fresh ginger and some fresh coriander too. Delicious!

Bashbery

8th Feb, 2017

5.05

I keep coming back to this recipe time and time again. It's so easy and quick to make that it's perfect for last minute lunches. It's also very cheap to make so it's great if you're on a budget. Highly recommended.

heysalter

10th Jan, 2017

5.05

Cooked in my multi cooker with hemp milk and it turned out great! Cannot believe it was so easy and delicious!

Twinklebum99

24th Dec, 2016

4.05

Made in the slow cooker for the first time today and it was great! Love this recipe and you can make it as hot or as not as you wish. Today was a mild one as making for my three year old but she loved it

Pages

Thanks for your question. Yes, you can freeze this. We put a blue star above the nutritional information on all our freezable recipes. Hope that helps when looking at future recipes too!

LITTLECHEF14

4th Jul, 2017

hi dont know what i did wrong but it came out as a baby food consistency like loads of bits in it dont know what happened help!!

goodfoodteam

5th Jul, 2017

We're sorry it didn't work out for you. You need to use a stick blender, blender or food processor to achieve a smooth consistency, and make sure you use the full 1 litre of stock. Hope that helps if you decide to try it again.

Sanjuan

4th Jun, 2017

Can you freeze this soup?

goodfoodteam

6th Jun, 2017

Thanks for your question. Yes, you can freeze this soup. All our freezable recipes have a blue star just above the nutritional information. Hope that helps in future.

TheMilkCowBlues

27th Jun, 2015

I was wondering if you could substitute the milk for soy milk?

goodfoodteam

12th Aug, 2015

Hi, thanks for getting in touch. We haven't tested this recipe using soy milk so cannot guarantee perfect results but can see no reason why it wouldn't be absolutely fine to do so. Let us know how you get on.

Kanin

3rd Mar, 2015

I am not familiar with all the English food terms, so could someone explain what means "split red lentils"?

goodfoodteam

13th Mar, 2015

Hi Kanin, thanks for getting in touch, lentils are small pulses, similar to peas which are dried and used in soups, stews and dhal recipes. They come in different colours and types. The ones for this recipe are the red split kind which are a deep orange colour and look a bit like a tiny flat disc. We have a glossary page on lentils which may help a little more http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/lentils. Hope this helps, let us know how you get on or if you need more information.

Pages

I have made this soup many times but my latest batch was the tastiest yet. I forgot to remove the scoop of toasted seeds so had double the amount in the pot from the start. I had two parsnips which needed used so I added them keeping the original amount of carrots but adding more water. I like the soup even better now, it's subtly different in a nice way.

notnixon

23rd Sep, 2016

Delicious! I used coconut milk (the drinking kind) rather than cows milk. The hint of coconut really helped the flavour.

Atay

27th Apr, 2016

5.05

Fantastic recipe - cheap, easy, tasty and healthy - I made it vegan by swapping the dairy milk for a tin of coconut milk. This has become a regular of mine and has been a big hit with friends.

JoanneMat

10th Sep, 2015

3.8

If you are going to blend at the end there is really no need to grate the carrots to begin with just chop quickly and throw in to pot!

ollynewport

1st Mar, 2015

If you prefer a chunky soup, cut the the carrots into small cubes, keeping the rest of the ingredients the same. If you wish to have meat: take several slices of smoked streaky bacon, cut into small pieces, fry until crispy, and add to the saucepan along with the carrot, lentils, milk and stock.

fitnessjonas

6th Dec, 2014

A great soup, very filling. I have it as a snack as it has good balance of veg and vegetarian protein.

jaysterhowl

27th Jun, 2013

This soup is lovely, but much nicer if you add extra spices and a bit of smoked paprika (as others have said). Be very meagre with the chilli flakes however, as the frying at the start really brings out the spice!

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